Hi there everyone
I'm feeling a little fristrated this mornning. I have been keeping my calories under 1500 and working out every morning but my weightloss has stalled this week. I feel thinner and people say i'm losing and I can see it but the scale won't budge!
Should I take may calories down some or something? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jamie

What do you mean by stalled? Like you weigh daily and the scale hasn't moved for a few days, or you weigh every Wednesday, and today is weigh day and you are the same weight as last week?

If you weigh daily and the scale hasn't moved since say Monday, then...well it's really normal. Stay at you calorie level and wait to adjust when things get really hairy...

If the scale hasn't moved for an entire week, then maybe you should recheck your calorie counts and make sure you are recording the proper amounts...then as above stick to it. It will come off. And as long as you remain faithful, it will come off rather quickly. It will....trust me.

I feel like the calorie police sometimes because I give out the same advice so often but here goes: Try eating more calories. 1,500 is actually pretty low for your weight/height. I weigh less, eat more, and I'm losing weight. Sometimes if you're not eating enough for your body's needs it WILL stall because you're depriving it.

You know how they say "dress for the job you want, not for the job you have" Well the same thing does not necessarily apply here. You can't eat like a 120lb woman because your body doesn't have the same needs as a 120lb body. If you're going to be calorie counting do it effectively, don't pick an arbitrary number like 1500 just because it sounds like dieting type of number.

Weight stalling is only the first step that can go wrong in depriving your body of the calories it needs. The next stop is hunger, cravings, and those could eventually lead to bingeing. Good luck, take care of yourself and hang in there!! We've all seen the scale stand still, just keep going.

Thanks for your kind words. I apparently am half asleep and cannot spell this morning

Be patient. I'm new to my weight loss journey and so far it went like this:
4 pounds in a 6 days
roughly the same weight for 11 days
4 pounds in 10 days

I agree with Wannabeskinny that you may be too low on calories. I'm eating between 1600 and 1800.

Also, make sure you're drinking plenty of water. I'm discovering that the scale doesn't move if I'm not going to the bathroom and lots of water helps with both kinds of going to the bathroom.

Good luck and stick to it! You can't fail if you don't quit.

I'm 5'2" and 168lbs. I recently went to a nutritional counselor who told me based on my height and weight, and the amount of activity I do (2walking 2-3 miles per day) I should be aiming for 1600 calories a day, and no less then 1400 calories. On the days I don't eat out or order in, and eat "healthy" I was eating between 1000-1200 per week and working out at the gym consistently for the last 2-3 years with minimal weight loss - and tons of frustration! I know the nutritionist used some kind of calculator/formula to figure this out. Maybe someone can suggest a website or tool that you can use to figure out how many calories you should be eating...but I really think you're eating too few.

I think you guys are right. I have checked several websites and they are all sayin like 2100 calories for my height and weight. So i'm gonna bump it up and see what happens.

That's great. Just be prepared if you go from 1500 to 2100 to see a possible increase in weight for a few days before you start SLOWLY losing again. The ultimate formula is calories in vs. calories out. If you take in more and burn the same, your weight loss will be slower not faster. Which was your original dilemma in your OP.

With that being said, I averaged between 1200-1500 calories a day. I NEVER had a plateau, (a period for more than 2 weeks without a loss), I exercised minimally at first, and I at my last doctors appointment, (2 weeks ago) I had a complete physical including lab work and every vitamin/mineral level was in perfect order. My point is, all this eat more stuff is not necessary if you are looking to get fit at a faster rate. You don't NEED more, it's just more fun to eat more.

This is absolutely wrong.

To the OP, the needs of a smaller person trying to lose weight are very different than a bigger person, and the same diet that is appropriate for a 120 pound woman to lose weight might constitute a crash diet for someone who is substantially heavier. There have been some scientific studies that have shown that people lose a much smaller percentage of body fat when they greatly restrict their calories. Greater calorie deficits result in a greater loss of lean mass, including muscle, which is precious tissue that is important for a strong, healthy body. I can send you a few journal articles if you like.

Most doctors recommend taking a slow and steady approach rather than rushing your weight loss unless there is an urgent reason to do otherwise. If that's the case, you should only do a low calorie diet under your doctor's supervision.

Lastly, don't let anyone make you feel badly for eating more than 1200 calories per day. Your body really does need it.

Best of luck!

[QUOTE]You mean this is wrong in your opinion right?...AND you should only do ANY diet under a doctors supervision? That's what I thought.

I wonder why...If slow and steady is SO important to MOST doctors why has the recommendation for Weight loss surgery quadrupled in the last 5 years? Weight loss surgery is not slow and steady, it is fast and furious. If doctors think slow and steady is so great, WHY do they approve thousands of people weekly for the surgery? If you would take a poll of the morbidly obese people on this forum, I wonder how many of them were suggested WLS by their primary care physician? Mine sure did. I didn't do it, but that was the first words out of his mouth... I changed doctors.

The human body was designed to store fat, fat for use later. If we needed all this extra food we would not get fat. We become overweight because we eat too many calories.

I'm with Lori Bell. I never had a plateau. I ate 1500 and still aim for that. I do not eat back calories due to activity. I had some weeks that were slower than others. As long as I stayed on track I finally saw a huge DIP. This happened a couple during my weightloss. I weighed daily.

Also, are you eating plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, fiber and water? How is your sodium. How is your artificial sweetner consumption? How are you sleeping? All of these things definitely DO effect my own experience.

Finally, if you Bite it, drink it or lick it, WRITE IT! Keep festidious check on calorie consumption.

Lori, doctors suggest weight loss surgery when it's clear that patients can't stick to a diet plan long enough to lose weight without it. Do you believe there are no negative effects from fast weight loss as a result of WLS? Also, it's not my opinion that muscle loss is far greater when calories are greatly restricted, that's a fact. A 1200 calorie diet will have different consequences for a 350 pound woman than a 120 pound woman. Now, of course some people will do fine cutting their calories that low, but pretending that 1200 calorie level is A-OK for everyone is irresponsible at best.

This can be such a heated topic but I think the truth is that what works for one woman may not work for another and there are many ways to approach weight loss that work depending on what your goal is geared toward. I aim to find what works best for my body and will ultimately help me feel healthier. If 1500 calories and exercise isn't cutting it perhaps it's time to experiment with other options such as more calories or maybe evaluate the types of calories you are consuming. I tend to lean toward a healthy balance that will help sustain the muscle I have, although I would like to drop the weight quickly my goal is health and living a lifestyle I can stick to.
I usually have to remind myself that I didn't gain the weight in a week, how can I expect it to fall off that way. I'm at the beginning of this path once again and I know this challenge is ahead of me so I wish you the best of luck in finding the path that works best for you, I hope you will keep us posted.

Thank you all for your advice. I am going to experiment and see what works best. Hopefully I can figure it out

[QUOTE=Lori Bell;2918824]I'm afraid that I don't quite trust the medical industry or the pharmaceutical industry. I'm never quite sure that they're looking out for OUR best interest, but rather their own pockets. A doctor would make more money if he were to perform 10 weight loss surgeries a month rather than those patients lose weight naturally and on their own. Just like plastic surgeons wouldn't make too much money if EVERYONE was considered beautiful.